A Second Chance
by stelena-forever-and-always
Summary: Takes place a bit after the sacrifice at the end of season 2. Stefan tries as hard as possible to deal with Elena's death. Will he be able to move on?
1. Losing You

**In my version, Klaus can die because in my world, there's no such thing as the whole 'bloodlines' thing. Also in this version, Damon never force-fed Elena his blood and John never gave up his life. Also, Damon never got bitten by Tyler.**

Stefan watched as Klaus drank Elena's blood. He could see that she was desperately trying to hang onto life; and was failing miserably. She looked at him with sad eyes. Still watching him, she whispered something that was meant for his ears only. Then, he saw her brown eyes close as Klaus dropped her onto the ground as if she were nothing but a doll. It was a sight Stefan had just hated thinking about. Elena, his true love, lying on the ground, her eyes closed, her chocolatey brown hair pooled around her face, her chest not rising or falling as it should have, and worst of all, he couldn't hear the wonderful rhythm of her beating heart.

He closed his eyes, not wanting to see anymore. Instead, he listened to Klaus make the painful transformation into a wolf. Soon, he heard Bonnie's chanting. When he finally reopened his eyes, he saw Damon pick up Elena's limp body and carry her towards Stefan. Damon lay her on the ground next to Stefan. "Take her back to the house, Damon."

"What about you?"

"He killed Elena, I'm not leaving until he's dead." With that, Damon picked her up again and carried her away. Right when Stefan looked back at Klaus, Elijah was already there, his hand inside Klaus' chest. Right then, Elijah ripped his now bloody hand away, Klaus' heart in his hand.

_Three Weeks Later_

Stefan closed the book he had been reading and set it down on the bedside table. It had already been a week since he moved into another room in the Boarding House. He had managed to live in his old room for two weeks before the memories of Elena had been too much to bear. After all, it had only been three weeks since her death; barely a month. It wasn't very easy to move on from losing someone he had loved. Damon had kept on telling him to try and move on but it was no use. He couldn't let her go, no matter how much he could try to. He got up from the bed and jumped out the window, landing cat-like on the ground below. He ran into town until he got to the Mystic Falls Funeral Home where Elena was. He quickly checked in and went inside. Finally, he got to the private room where Elena was. Stepping inside, he saw the golden coffin that was lined with blue velvet. Inside, lay Elena. Her hands were folded on her lap. On her neck, was the vervain necklace he had given to her. He unclasped it and took it off her. He needed _some _kind of item to help him breathe again. Taking the necklace and putting it in his pocket, he left the room and ran back home.


	2. Overwhelming Feelings

**Sorry, I know its been a while since I updated but I've been busy with a million things!  
**

Right when Stefan came back to the house, he went into his old room. Instantly, the memories of Elena surged up all around him. Still standing on his dresser was the photo of the both of them. When he got directly in front of it, he simply just stared at it for a moment. When he finally made his hand move, he set the necklace around the bottom of the frame;its chain in an almost perfect circle. Stepping away, he quickly turned around and walked out of the room as fast as his legs could take him.

In the hall, he found Damon simply standing there, as if he were waiting for Stefan. "I know you went out, little brother. What I don't know is where you went. So, where was it?"  
"Don't worry about it."  
"Tell me. I'm going to find out anyway."  
"Fine. I went to the funeral home, so what?"  
"Again, Stefan? Really? It's already been three weeks, get over the girl!"  
"Like you got over Katherine 145 years after she supposedly died?"  
"This isn't about me."  
"I think this is the first time something's not about you, Damon."  
"Stefan, your grief is talking."  
"Shut up Damon." He turned away and continued walking to his room.

Hours later at around 7:00, someone knocked on the door to Stefan's room. "Come in, it's open." Caroline walked in, her boot's heels clicking on the floor. Nowadays, Caroline came to talk to him. She was the only person that really understood him now. She was like Lexi.  
"How are you doing, Stefan?"  
"Do you think Damon's right?"  
"About what?" She sat on the bed next to him.  
"About the fact that maybe I should just move on?"  
"Listen to me, Stefan Salvatore. Do not listen to your dick of a brother about anything." He laughed. Caroline seemed to always know what she was talking about; and she usually did. She had definitely matured as a vampire. She continued.  
"Hey, she was the love of your life, Stefan. You can't get over her so easily. There's even a chance that you may never get over her."  
"Honestly Caroline, thank you for helping me."  
"It's no problem. You helped me when I just turned so now, it's my turn to return the favor." She smiled.

_The Next Day_

After the talk with Caroline, he had managed to sleep surprisingly well after she left. He got up and quickly changed. The first thing he did was jump out the window and hunt in the woods. When he returned, he went into the library to pick out a book. At the end, he chose _Wuthering Heights_. Somehow, it was the first book he picked out, and it felt right to have done it. Then, he poured himself a glass of water from the kitchen. Heading back to his room, he saw the door to his old room ajar; even though he always kept it shut. He approached it slowly. He was even prepared to use the hardcover book in his hand as a weapon. Getting closer, he saw a person inside. He could tell that it was a female by the long, brown hair flowing down their back. He couldn't see who it was because her back was to him. She was dressed a way he had never seen a girl dress. She was wearing a white, flowing gown that touched the floor. The sleeves of the dress were like the skirt: long and flowing and they were up to the girl's wrists. She seemed to be looking at the picture on the dresser of him and Elena.  
"Who are you?"  
The girl finally turned around so he could see her face. No, no it couldn't be. Could it?  
"Stefan",the girl whispered.  
His mind instantly went back to the night Elena died. He remembered what she had said to him right before she had fallen. "I love you, Stefan. And we'll be together. I promise." Somehow, it was true.  
"How",Stefan asked.  
"I promised you",Elena replied.

**Cliffhanger! Stay tuned...**


	3. With You Again

"Elena, how is this possible? How are you here right now",Stefan asked.  
"I...don't know. I was just in this place when I felt a tug. Then, I was brought here."  
"Maybe it was the necklace."  
"Most likely. But Stefan, this doesn't solve anything. Even though I'm here, we can't touch, we can't be together." She was right. Sure, he could _see _her but without touch, how could they _possibly _be together? "I don't care",he finally said. She simply smiled at him. God, how did _he _ever deserve her? "Don't worry Stefan. We'll get through this together. Do you want to know why? Because it's you and me. Always."

He jumped out of the window and landed on the ground below. For once, he snuck out to go hunting instead of going to the funeral home. As much as he didn't want to leave Elena, she had insisted and finally made him go out to hunt. He took one last glance towards the Boarding House. Everything was quiet. It was as if absolutely no one lived there. He then ran into the forest at full vampire speed.

Elena simply wandered around Stefan's room, knowing she couldn't get very far away from her vervain necklace. She had wonderful memories of his room; way too many to count. She missed Mystic Falls and everyone in it. She missed her friends and Jeremy and she even missed Damon a little. But of course she missed Stefan the most. Suddenly, she heard the door downstairs open. Whoever it was, they were walking up the stairs. It was most likely Damon or maybe it was Stefan coming back from his hunt. But instead of seeing a guy's shoe by the edge of the door, she saw a girl's black heeled boot. Then, she watched as Katherine passed by the room, not stopping to look at Elena, who was grateful that Katherine hadn't seen her. But, as soon as she walked by, she slowly walked backwards. Her mouth formed an _O _as soon as she saw Elena. "You are supposed to be dead. If your little witch found a loophole I _will _kill you now and go after her next."  
"I am dead."  
"You will be."

Katherine ran towards Elena, but instead of landing on Elena's body, she landed on the ground. "What the hell?" She got back up. It looked like Elena actually _was _dead. "I'm not going to ask any questions because I'm pretty sure you don't know any answers. Tell you what, for old time's sake, I'll find out some info for you. But don't tell anyone I came over. Or I will go after your little brother next got it?" She raised an eyebrow. Elena simply nodded; not saying anything. "Good. I'm so glad we had this talk. See you another time, Elena." She smirked right before she turned around and walked back downstairs.

As soon as she left the Salvatore house, Katherine pulled out her Iphone and dialed a familiar number. The call was answered immediately."Kat?"  
"Lucy, it's so nice speaking to you again."  
"What do you want?"  
"Some information."  
"What about?"  
"Is it possible for a dead person to become a ghost and actually be _seen_?"  
"Yes actually. The person's presence can be connected to an item that binds them with a living person."  
"Is there any way to get rid of their presence?"  
"Well, it's a two step process."  
"Tell me."  
"First thing: you need to destroy the bind."  
"Huh?"  
"Like lets say the victim's item is bound to his relationship with his sister. You can try to kill his sister to destroy the bind."  
"What if you don't want to kill a person?"  
"Since when are you not willing to kill someone?"  
"Just answer the question."  
"Fine. You could always erase the dead person away from their memory."  
"Bingo. So, what's the second step?"  
"After you destroy the bind, destroy the object. If you still want to keep the presence, you can trap them in something like a mirror."  
"Perfect. But what would the object be?"  
"How would I know?"  
"I need to think. Bye, Lucy."  
"Later, Kat."  
As soon as Katherine hung up, she finally realized what the object that was keeping Elena's presence was. It would make perfect sense. The bind the object had was a strong one that would hopefully be breakable. Hard to break, but breakable. She was surprised the object didn't occur to her earlier. It was so obvious. It was the vervain necklace that was bound by Stefan's love for Elena.

**Ooooo what is Katherine planning? Stay tuned...**


	4. The Unimaginable

Of course it was the vervain necklace that made Elena be seen. It would be a hard bond to break but it could be broken. Realizing what she had to do, she made her way to Mystic Falls' sister city.

Fell's Church, Virginia was a quaint town even smaller than Mystic Falls. You had to squint hard just to see its name on the map of Virginia. She had come here because she knew an old friend of Lucy's that would be able to help her with her situation. It wasn't hard though to find her house. Fell's Church was so small that they still used phone books to locate people. Soon enough, she was in front of the house and she knocked on its red maple door. It was soon answered by a tall girl with auburn hair that she had wrapped in a bun. She couldn't be older than 23. "Can I help you",she asked.  
"Yes, I'm Katherine Pierce. I'm a friend of Lucy's."  
"Katherine. Oh that's right. You're Lucy's vampire friend. Tell me what you want and we'll see if I'll let you in. I'm Avery by the way."  
"I need you to erase something from a certain someone's memory."  
"I _can _do what you ask but, for a price."  
"What price?"  
"My little sister's dying of cancer. I want you to turn her."  
"Fine. But I will _not _be in charge of any damage she might do."  
"Deal. Come on." She went back inside and came out holding her purse.  
"Where are we going?"  
"Fell's Church Hospital. If you want me to do what you want me to do, you're doing your end of the bargain first."

The hospital looked just like any other hospital. White linoleum floor, bare, ugly green walls, and doctors and nurses in scrubs all around. Avery led her to a room somewhere on the third floor. Inside, lay a girl in a bed surrounded by beeping machines and a breathing tube. She appeared to be sleeping. "That's my sister, Victoria. Just do what you need to do." Katherine moved over to a table full of medical supplies. She grabbed a sharp, metal tool and gave herself a large cut on her hand. Then, she quickly unscrewed the needle off a syringe and filled it up to the top with her blood. As soon as she healed, she put the needle back on. Then, she moved over to the sleeping girl on the bed and put the needle into her arm. Soon enough, all the blood was gone. "She'll probably die soon. When she does, get her out of here and take her home. The rest is up to her. Now, come on."  
"Where are we going?"  
"To Mystic Falls."

Katherine immediately went over to the Salvatore house. Through a window, she could see that Stefan and Elena were in the living room. If Elena was in the living room, that meant that the necklace had to be in there as well. She had to create a diversion long enough to take the necklace.  
"What's the plan",Avery asked next to her.  
"I'll create a distraction that will lead him outside. Cast the spell on him there. But make sure he doesn't see you." She nodded. Katherine found a stone and threw it at one of the windows.

Suddenly, Stefan heard the sound of glass breaking. "Hang on, Elena." He got up and went to the source.

He walked out to the back yard and found the broken window. Just then, his head began throbbing and he fell to the ground in pain.

Katherine walked into the living room and found Elena.  
"Oh Elena!" Elena turned around and gasped.

Elena was surprised to see Katherine there.  
"I finally know what exactly it is that let's you be seen. It's that little vervain necklace Stefan gave you. Stefan's love for you binds you here. Destroy that bind, you destroy your tie to here. Guess what, Elena? Do you realize that it's happening now as we speak."  
"No. No, he could never."  
"Well guess what? He is. Soon enough, he won't remember the name Elena Gilbert. In fact, that reminds me." She grabbed Stefan's phone from the table and went into what looked like his Contact's list. She showed the screen to Elena as she deleted Elena's number from the list. "Oops."  
"You bi-"  
"No need for that kind of language. You'll be trapped here now." She pulled out a silver handheld mirror. "And I'll take that." She picked up the vervain necklace from the table and threw it into the blazing fire.

Stefan suddenly felt something be removed from his mind. He felt a series of memories leave his mind and he saw them all as they left. All memories of Elena. From the moment he saw her die, to the 60's Decade Dance, to the lake house. All leaving his mind until the very first memories he had of her. The memory of their first real chat in the Mystic Falls Cemetery, the memory of when she bumped into him while leaving the men's washroom. All gone until only one remained. The one of him pulling her out of the lake when her parents car went over the bridge. No matter how hard he tried to protect his mind, the power controlling it was too powerful. Soon enough, all he remembered was a girl with brown hair and eyes and olive skin. Nothing else.

**NO STEFAN! What will happen now? Stay tuned...**


	5. Watching A Nightmare

The girl Stefan saw in his mind was the same one he had in his heart, the one he loved. He could _never _forget this girl.

"Stefan could _never _forget me",Elena protested.  
"I know. Sure, he can forget your name, but he can't forget your face. He loves you too much",Katherine replied.  
"Then how does this plan work for you?"  
"There are _some _advantages to looking _exactly _like you. He'll see your face and... what will he think, Elena?"  
"He'll think you're me."  
"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner! You're smarter than I thought. Stefan won't remember anything but your face, which, we both happen to have. I look exactly like you and he'll think so too. I'm sorry, Elena but it looks like you won't get your happy happily ever after ending after all."  
"How could you do this? I knew you were evil Katherine but never this evil."  
"A lot of people underestimate how evil I am and how evil I can be."  
"But _this _is a new low! Even for you!"  
"Listen closely, Elena. Even though I'm evil, Stefan has and always will be in my heart; whether you like it or not. I _will _go out of my way to be with him again. I would've been able to be with him again easily if he hadn't met you. Greedy girls get punished, and you're a greedy girl."  
"Look who's talking."  
"Now there's no need for those kinds of words. Hmm, I think I hear Stefan coming. Time to get in here." She held up the handheld mirror. Suddenly, Elena felt something push her towards it. Something tugging her forward until she ended up trapped in a small space. She saw the living room as if she were looking through a window. Katherine brought the mirror down to face her. Elena suddenly realized in horror that she was trapped in the mirror.  
"Why not just destroy me? Why just keep me in a mirror",Elena asked.  
"Because I want to be able to brag about how things are going with Stefan and I."  
"You want me here to brag?"  
"Yes. Brag, gloat however you want to say it. But eventually, when I know I don't need to keep you here any more, I'll destroy you."  
"How?"  
"I'll just drop this mirror and let the shards go all over the ground. Then, you'll be nothing but a spirit on the other side." Elena heard footsteps approaching the living room. "That must be Stefan." Katherine put the mirror in her purse but made sure to leave it in a position where Elena could see everything going on. She watched as Stefan came into the living room and saw Katherine. He couldn't have forgotten Elena. Never. She was sure of it. He couldn't have forgotten her. Right?

Stefan was surprised to see Katherine in the living room. After 145 years thinking she was dead, he was ecstatic to see her. This was the face in his heart. The face of Katherine Pierce, his one love. "Katherine. I thought you died in 1864 when the church burned down."  
"I did it to escape Damon. I didn't want to turn him but he begged me to. I only wanted to turn you so we could have a forever together. An eternity. I faked my death so I wouldn't have to see Damon's face when he eventually would find out that I prefer his brother. I hoped to someday reunite with you. And know I have."  
"Oh, Katherine." He walked over to her and hugged her. She returned the hug gladly.

Elena watched in horror as Stefan hugged Katherine, who had just lied to his face and probably had no regrets. Katherine looked at Elena past his shoulder and shot her an evil grin. But then, Stefan began to do something Elena wished she never would have to see.

Stefan began to lean in to kiss her. Katherine backed away quickly. "Not yet, Stefan. I...want to make sure Damon understands that I no longer care for him."

_What a liar, _Elena thought.

"I understand, Katherine. You truly _are _an angel."

_Angel yeah right. Katherine is the exact opposite of an angel. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't even regret killing an angel. _But it was strange that Katherine had backed away from him when she _knew _Elena was watching. Since Katherine wasn't telling the truth, why didn't she kiss Stefan?

**Why didn't Katherine kiss Stefan? Any theories? Stay tuned...**


	6. Returning To A Surprise

**I know I haven't updated in awhile but I've been busy with my other story _Opposites Attract_. Please check it out if you haven't already and thanks a million if you do! :D**

Katherine couldn't believe that she had actually controlled her body to not kiss Stefan. She _had _wanted to do exactly that for years. As much as she wanted to, she couldn't. She couldn't make any contact like that whatsoever until she was absolutely _sure _that the tie between him and and Elena was broken beyond repair. Then again, she knew what she was in for when she had created this plan. Inside her purse, she suddenly heard a pounding noise. _Elena. That annoying little brat! _She opened her purse and took out the handheld mirror. In it, Elena was pounding her fists against the glass. Of course Katherine had already made sure that Elena couldn't break the glass from the inside. So, she had gotten Avery to make her a special mirror. A regular mirror could easily be cracked by pounding your fists against it.

"What do you want you little annoying brat",Katherine asked.  
"Why didn't you kiss Stefan back? You clearly had a chance to. And don't give me the 'Damon needs to know first' excuse because that is pure bull."  
"Okay, fine. The Damon excuse was obviously not true. But I'm not telling you the real reason why. Why should I?"  
"Because then I'll keep on annoying you."  
"You know that I could always take you out of my purse, put you in the very back of my closet and forget about you for a century or two right? Face it, Elena. You are just a cheap knock-off of me who doesn't have anything to bargain. Hang on a second." Katherine put the mirror back and fumbled for her keys. She soon found them and opened the door. The house she had stolen was fairly large and spacious. She set her purse down on the table by the door way and closed the door.

_One day later_

Elena was bored of being trapped in the mirror. First, it wasn't very spacious. If she just stretched out, she would hit the mirror's border. Katherine had obviously gotten a witch-made mirror for her. All Elena could do was look around at all of her surroundings. Since Katherine had put the mirror on her vanity, Elena had Katherine's room to stare at all day. She soon memorized the color of all the eye shadows and blushes strewn across the vanity. She memorized every article of clothing in the closet and the pattern of the bedsheets. She even remembered the exact thickness, color, and title of every (what seemed untouched) book on the dust bookshelf. She wished she could at least move around more, even if she was in Katherine's black purse.

"How much longer do I have to wait to _know_ that the tie is broken",Katherine asked Avery.  
"Patience, Katherine. From what you told me, it looks like this tie was a strong one. Once the fire stops burning, that's when you'll know for sure."  
"What fire?"  
"The fire you threw the necklace into. You _did _throw it into fire right?"  
"No I threw it into the toilet. Of course I threw it into the fire. I'm not an idiot, Avery."  
"Sorry. But anyways, the stronger the tie, the longer the fire. But it shouldn't take too long. In fact, it should be out by today."  
"Wonderful. Because I really want to kiss Stefan again."  
"Whatever",Avery replied.

Stefan walked into the living room. The fire burning in the fireplace seemed to have finally died. It lasted longer than any fire he had ever seen. He knelt in front of it and grabbed the nearby brush and dust pan. He then began to clean the ashes. When he got closer to the middle though, he thought he saw something silver glint in the rubble. He let go of the dustpan and began brushing off the ashes. He began seeing a chain covered in grime and attached to it, a silver locket with red design on it. A necklace. He picked it out and dusted the rest of the ashes with his hand. It was finally revealed as a silver locket with red designs on it on a silver chain. Opening the locket, he found a tuft of vervain tucked into it. Something like a memory sprang up in his mind. He saw an image of him putting it around the neck of...Katherine? Why was he putting a vervain locket around a vampire he loved? It would've burned her. He simply kept staring at it, waiting for another memory to come. Just then, the front door opened and Katherine looked at him and the necklace with a look of panic on her face.

**Uh oh how is Katherine going to react? What will she do? Stay tuned...**


	7. A Name Appears

**How was the new episode last night? I totally LOVED that last hallucination Stefan had at the end of the episode. But, I won't spoil it just in case you have yet to see it. These next 2 updates are in that scene's honor though...**

"Where did you get that necklace",Katherine asked.  
"It was in the ashes of the fireplace",Stefan replied.  
"No, no that's _impossible. _It should be burned away to nothing but ashes. I-" She stopped herself short. She remembered that he knew _nothing _of Elena. How would he even remember giving the necklace to her?  
"Fine, whatever, Stefan. I'll be back." Katherine ran upstairs, her cell phone in her hand.

"So, what do I do",Katherine asked. She was currently on the phone with Avery, the witch who had done the magic to Stefan's mind.  
"You should be fine. He won't remember her."  
"But what if he asks her pesky little friends or pathetic little brother about her?"  
"Relax, Katherine, I did my homework. I cast a spell that prevents anyone except you from saying her name. Every time they do, or well try to, they'll feel a choking sensation."  
"Good, because we're in too deep to make a mistake. But what do I do with the necklace?"  
"Get it and come over here. I should be able to destroy it."  
"What time should I be there?"  
"Tomorrow's good. Just be careful with what you say and do."  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah I get it, I'm not an idiot." Katherine hung up on Avery without a goodbye.

Stefan had been trying to stir up another memory with the necklace but had no luck. Just as he was about to give up, a picture formed in his mind. It was the girl again. Sure, she _did _look exactly like Katherine, but something in his heart said that it wasn't. A whole group of memories formed in his mind now. He _felt _something for this girl. Why? He didn't even know her! He saw himself hugging her, smiling with her, kissing her. A name almost sprung up in his mind. He was quickly losing grasp on it. Trying as hard as he could, he tried to remember.

"You know that I might die because of this right",Avery asked. She was in her living room and was sitting with someone that no one else but her could see.  
"I know that, but please, Avery. You're the only person I can talk to who can do this",the girl said. "How did you even manage to do this? I thought you were trapped."  
"I was, but I had just enough strength to do this. But you need to help me."  
"Why should I?"  
"Because I know Katherine's plan. She practically tells me everything because she knows I can't do anything. Well, now I am. She _will _kill your sister without any remorse. Please. I'm running out of time. As soon as she pulls out that mirror, I'll be drawn back to it and I'll be trapped."  
"Fine, I'll do it. But you'll make sure that Victoria will be okay on the Other Side?"  
"Yes."  
"Okay then. Katherine's coming here tomorrow. I'll get her to let me go to Mystic Falls with her and I'll do the spell. Just tell me your name at least"said Avery.  
The girl was beginning to fade away. "Elena. My name is Elena." And with that, she disappeared.

Stefan remembered the name now. The name itself made his heart jump and he felt as if it were beating again, though he thought it did with Katherine. The name brought back small memories, none of them really telling him who this girl was to him. At least he knew her name. _Elena._

**Oooo Stefan remembers! What's Elena's plan and will Avery be able to do what Elena wants? Stay tuned...**


End file.
